Magneto ignition device for internal-combustion engines.



G. B. REDRUP. MAGNETO IGNITION DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1911 1,()30;12"A Patentd June 18, 19;.2.

] 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G.B.REDRUP.

" MAGNETO IGNITION DEVIGE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 15, 1911.

I 1 03 127 I Patented June 18, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

UNITED STATES AENT CHARLES BENJAMIN REDRUP, F GANTON, CARDIFF, ENG-LAND.

MAGNETO IGNITION DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11 18, 11912 Application filed June 15, 1911. Serial No. 633,832.

To all whom it may concern:

'- Be it known that I, CHARLES BENJAMIN REDRUB, a subject of the King of England, residing at Canton, Cardifl, county of Glamorgan, Wales, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Magneto Ignition Devices for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

Th1s invention 15 for improvements m magnetongnltlon devlces for lnternal comibustion engines and has for its object to but at adilferent. speed from that of the cylinders. Preferably amake-and-break plunger 1 cooperating with cam-surfaces on the distributer plate and carried around with the armature is employed for eifecting. the interruptions of the primary circuit of the armature, the first-mentioned brush. being in such, case connected with the high tension circuit.

. The field magnets may be carried on-the engine-shaft to, operate as a fly-wheel and the. back oi the distributer. plate may be madeliollow-to permit easy arrangement of the connectionsb'etween the contactsand the seriesofexternal terminals, carried by the distributer plate. 1

In, the, accompanyin drawings which illustrate one method o carrying out this invention :Figure 1 is a central section through a magnetoand distributor; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the magneto mechanism magnets, and Fig. 3 is a face view of the distributer plate. p

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings. 'Aportionof the crank-case of the en ine is, shown at A and parts of two cylin ers are shown at A The cylinders A are rigid with the crank-case and disposed radially thereto, the whole revolving together in the well-known manner, and as these parts are well-known they need no further description in the present specification.

The engine-shaft B rotates in a reverse sense to the cylinders and crank-case, and

secured to it by a bossed yoke B are the magnets B of the magneto apparatus. Surrounding the shaft B is a bush C and surrounding this is a sleeve D that carries the. armature D of the magneto apparatus. 'The sleeve D has on ita toothed wheel D that lies within the crankcase A and meshes with other gear wheels therein. One of these other wheels is carried by the crankshaft and the arrangement and ratios of the wheels are such that the sleeve D is dri en in the same direction as, but at a diiierent speed, from that of the crank-case A. Fast to the crank-case is a distributor plate E having on its face a series of contactsE The'plate E is in the form of a disk hollowed out at its back to form a chamber E and the contacts E are arranged in a circle (see Fig. 3) grouped as hereinafter described.

On the periphery of the distributer plate E is a series of terminals E there being as many terminals as there are cylinders of the engine. In Fig. 3 ten terminals are shown as the engine is supposed to have ten. cylinders. Each cylinder carries an ignition plug A conveniently situated on that side of-it which is toward the magneto apparatus, and a wire A connects the ignition plug with the terminal allotted to it. Within the hollow back E of the distributer plate each terminalis provided with a nutE and each contact has a set-screw E the plate E is of insulating material.

Fast on the sleeve D which, as already stated, carries the armature D is a cross arm 13 and the portions of the arm that lie on opposite sides of the sleeve ea'ch carry a socket D D respectively. In the socket D a brush D is mounted and is free to slide endwise. One end of the brush bears against the distributer plate in line with the contacts E and on the opposite end of the brush a spring D bears which is connected with one end of the high-tension winding of the arma- The spring D i'tbut in the arm and having metallic contact therewith is -aset-screwD whose end lies opposite the vibrating end of the spring D The arm D 'and' thus the screw 1) is 5 earthed and the screw is so setthat when the plunger 1) is in the recess E as shown in Fig. 1, the spring D willbe in contact with the set screw. The grouping of the contacts E is shown 10 in Fig. 3 as arranged for an engine having a two-throw crank and ten cylinders, five of which are allotted to one crank and five to the other. The contacts E and terminals E allotted to the cylinders for one crank are numbered with Arabic figures and the same parts allotted to the other set of cylinders are numbered with Roman figures. It will be seen that a group of five contacts with Arabic figures is arranged with its elements in consecutive order and then a group with Roman figures with its elements in consecutive order and following this is another group with Arabic figures, and yet another group with Roman figures, so that each group is duplicated. This is the arrangement adopted with ff-the sleeve D that. carries the armature and the brush D travels around one and a quarter turns relatively to the crank shaft while the crank-chamber which 0 carries the distributer plate rotates only once relatively to the crank shaft. This extra quarter revolution of travel of the brush 1) has a two-fold object (1) the magneto magnets are provided with four poles which 5 would only give four excitations to the a rmature per revolution whereas-five are required, (2) it-is necessary to move the brush relatively to the.distributer plate and the quarter turn enables the brush thus to travel 4 over five contacts corresponding to the five cylinders which are to be exploded during onerevolution of the crank case relatively to the crank shaft. The operation of this device is as follows :As the armature I) rotates the current willbe excited in the primary circuit by the magneto magnets in the well known manner. As the arm D rotates with the plunger 7, the spring D maintains said plung'er yieldingly in, contact with the cam surfaces formed on the distributer plate E by the recesses E", whereby said spring alternately engages and disengages the screw D to make and break the primary circuit. At

the instant at which the spring D is thus disengaged from the screw D the brush 1) is on one of the contacts E and thus current from the high-tension winding of the armatune I) will pass from that contact to the ignitiondevice that is connected therewith. Supposing the brush D is resting on the first contact of the left-hand group (Fig. 3)

- marked with Arabic figures the charge in cylinder 1 will be exploded and as the distributer plate is traveling in'the direction of the arrow slower than the briish, the brush will pass in consecutive o rder'o'vr the contacts 2,3, 4 and 5 discharging'the contacts of the eorresponding cylinders 2, 3, 4 and 5. These cylinders, as is shown by the position of the terminals E Fig. 3-, are arranged alternately with the'cylinders of the otherset so that during this relative movement of a quarter of a turn of the distributer plate and brush, the crank-case, and of course the distributer'plate with it, has performed a complete revolution. The brush next will rest upon the contact I of the right-hand -Roman group, Fig. 3, and will explode the cylinder marked with a Roman I and so on throughout the series Roman marked contacts and cylinders. After this the brush will next take the second set of contacts marked with Arabic numbers and then the second set marked with Roman numbcrs,'by which time the crank-case will have performed four .IBVOlllt-l s and each set of cylinders Will have had t eir charges exploded twice.

As will be seen the hollow back of the distributer plate E enables the various parts to be readily connected to their terminals, the method of wiring being shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 where the wiring for cylinders 1 and I only is shown to avoid confusion, and the terminals E- are directly connected to the ignition plugs by wires A as already stated, and shown in Fig. 1. 4

Instead of having the armature D mounted on the sleeve'D and the magnets 13 on the shaft B it will be easilyunderstood that the magnets may be substituted by two or more complete magneto machines whose spindles would be geared with a. wheel carried by the sleeve 'D. Whichever arrangement is employed, the magnets still serve as a fiy-wheel for the crank-shaft B.

Obviously various modifications may be made in detail in this apparatus according to the kind of engine and number of cylinders to which it is to be applied, but the above description is given by way of exinvention. I,

What I claim'as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an ignition device for multi-cylinder engines of a rotary reciprocating-piston type, the combination of a distributer plate provided with duplicate groups of contacts, a brush for engaging saidcontacts, means for rotating said plate and brush at different speeds in the direction of rotation of the engine cylinders, an electric generator having its armature-s in electrical connection with said brush, means for rotating the armature of said generator with said brush, and connections to the engine shaft for' rotating the field of said generator in a reverse direction.

. ample and not by way of limitation of the 9.. In an ignition device for multi-cylinder engines of a -rotary reciprocatingpiston type, the combination of a distributer plate provided with duplicate groups of contacts and with a series of depressions, a brush for engaging said contacts, a-plunger for engaging said depressions, means for rotating said plate in the direction of rotation of the engine cylinders, means for-rotating said brush and plunger in the same direction at a different speed from that of said plate, a magneto generator having the secondary winding of its armature in electrical connection with said brush, means controlled by said plunger for opening and closing the primary winding of said armature, and means for rotating said armature with said brush and plunger.

3. In an ignition device for rotary reciprocating-piston engines having sets of v power cylinders, the combinationof a distributer plate having duplicate groups of contacts for each set of cylinders, a brush for engaging said contacts, means for rotating said plate and brush at different speeds in the direction of rotation of the engine cylinders, an electric generator having its armat-ures in electrical connection with said brush, means'for rotating the armature of said generator with said brush, and con nections to the engine shaft for rotating the field of said-generator in a reverse direction."

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of .tWo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES BENJAMIN REDRUP.

Witnesses:

A. M. HAYWARD, HARRY B. BRIDGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the fcommissioner of Iatents,

' Washington, D. 0. 

